BEREA, Ohio — As he dropped back to pass during practice yesterday, Cleveland Browns quarterback
Brian Hoyer looked like a sailor lost at sea, desperately seeking land.

He turned right and saw cornerback Joe Haden blanketing receiver Anthony Armstrong. He turned
left and saw that Miles Austin had only a slight step on rookie cornerback Justin Gilbert 30 yards
down the sideline. With pressure coming, he had to throw the ball.

Gilbert quickly closed the gap, and then jumped to beat Austin and catch the ball. It was Hoyer’s
second interception of the day.

The defense regularly made such plays on the second day of padded practice at training camp. The
battle cry of the day was simple: toughness.

“We want to be nasty,” said safety Donte Whitner, a former Ohio State player. “No one wants a
nice defense or offense, so we want to establish that identity now.”

Coach Mike Pettine set up a best-of-five competition between the units in which the offense had
to gain 20 yards. The defense prevailed in a rout, winning three of the first four attempts.

“We wanted to do something competitive for the offense and defense to show a sense of pride,”
Pettine said. “A knee-jerk reaction would be that the defense is dominating this camp, but we want
to know who can finish well more than anything.”

With uncertainty at most positions on offense, the Browns might need the NFL’s ninth-ranked
defense from last year to be even better. General manager Ray Farmer brought in talent of different
ages and NFL experience to improve the unit.

The Browns drafted Gilbert, 22, out of Oklahoma State with the eighth overall pick in May,
hoping to find a starter opposite Haden. Gilbert is competing with four-year pro Buster Skrine for
the job.

In similar fashion, linebacker Chris Kirksey, 21, was drafted in the third round out of Iowa to
compete for the starting inside position with incumbent Craig Robertson. Linebackers coach Chuck
Driesbach said there is fierce competition for the job.

Kirksey and Gilbert have impressed Pettine with their maturity and knowledge of the game.

“They still have a lot of stuff to learn, but they’ve gotten the crowd going with some of the
plays they’ve made,” Pettine said. “They are always asking questions and trying to learn.”

To help balance the youth movement, the Browns signed Whitner, 29, and 32-year-old linebacker
Karlos Dansby. Whitner played in three consecutive NFC championship games and one Super Bowl with
the 49ers, and Dansby played in the 2009 Super Bowl with the Cardinals.

“I have no problem leading a team, but you can’t just walk into a new place and start bossing
people around,” Whitner said. “You have to be accountable and do things the right way to show how
it’s done.”

Kirksey said he’s paying close attention to Dansby, who has 1,007 tackles in 10 NFL seasons.

“I’m going in day to day trying to find out what I should do here,” Kirksey said. “Dansby has a
lot of knowledge that I’m always looking to learn from.”

Receiver Nate Burleson, entering his 12th season, said the Browns’ secondary is one of the
fastest he has played against.

“These guys are confident in both man and bump coverage, which doesn’t happen often,” Burleson
said. “They’re lengthy like Seattle, and these guys can equal their talent, no problem.”

Notable

Offensive tackle Chris Faulk, 24, and kicker Jake Rogers, 27, were cut yesterday, leaving 88
players on the roster. Faulk spent last season on injured reserve. … Receivers Travis Benjamin and
Charles Johnson were in pads for the first time in camp. Pettine said Benjamin was “in the mix” to
return kicks and punts.